Asia
Australian Shares Fall; Washington H. Soul Pattinson to Sell Brickworks Industrial JV Stake to Goodman in Nearly AU$2 Billion Deal
Australian shares fell on Thursday as investors reacted to signals from the US Federal Reserve regarding a potential rate hike later in the year.The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.62%, or 55.20 points, to close at 8,911.10.The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but policymakers indicated they expected higher borrowing costs later in the year. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3%, and the S&P 500 was down 1.2%.The US and Iran released the text of an agreement, which extends a ceasefire declared in April by another 60 days to allow the two countries to negotiate a final deal. Brent crude oil futures traded around $78 per barrel.On the domestic front, advertised salaries in Australia recorded a 0.3% month-on-month increase in May, pointing to sluggish growth in recent months, according to the SEEK Advertised Salary Index.Job ads in Australia in May fell 0.8% month on month and 4.5% year on year, while applications per job ad rose 3.6% month on month and are now 5.5% higher year on year, according to a report by Seek.In company news, Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX:SOL) has agreed to divest its interest in certain Brickworks (ASX:BKW) property division industrial joint venture (JV) trust assets to Goodman Australia Industrial Partnership and related Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) entities for AU$1.89 billion under a binding agreement.Challenger (ASX:CGF) entered a binding agreement to combine its Fidante multi-affiliate funds management business with Channel Capital, creating a new entity to be named Channel Group. Fidante will merge with Channel Capital under Channel Group to form an active investment platform managing roughly AU$150 billion across equities, fixed income, and alternative assets.Lastly, Rio Tinto Group's (ASX:RIO) Oyu Tolgoi unit in Mongolia has resumed regular concentrate export shipments. The Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold deposit is jointly owned by the government of Mongolia, which has a 34% stake, and Rio Tinto, which owns the remaining 66%.
ASX 200ASX:CGFASX:RIOASX:SOL